• Computers and Concrete
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.227-237
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• 2018

Today, the modeling of concrete as a material within finite element simulations is predominantly done through nonlinear material models of concrete. In current sophisticated computational systems, there are a number of complex concrete material models which are based on theory of plasticity, damage mechanics, linear or nonlinear fracture mechanics or combinations of those theories. These models often include very complex constitutive relations which are suitable for the modeling of practically any continuum mechanics tasks. However, the usability of these models is very often limited by their parameters, whose values must be defined for the proper realization of appropriate constitutive relations. Determination of the material parameter values is very complicated in most material models. This is mainly due to the non-physical nature of most parameters, and also the large number of them that are frequently involved. In such cases, the designer cannot make practical use of the models without having to employ the complex inverse parameter identification process. In continuum mechanics, however, there are also constitutive relations that require the definition of a relatively small number of parameters which are predominantly of a physical nature and which describe the behavior of concrete very well within a particular task. This paper presents an example of such constitutive relations which have the potential for implementation and application in finite element systems. Specifically, constitutive relations for modeling the plane stress state of concrete are presented and subsequently tested and evaluated in this paper. The relations are based on the incremental theory of elastic strain-hardening plasticity in which a non-associated flow rule is used. The calculation result for the case of concrete under uniaxial compression is compared with the experimental data for the purpose of the validation of the constitutive relations used.

• Interaction and multiscale mechanics
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.83-101
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• 2008

A derivation is given of two-scale models that are able to describe deformation and flow in a fluid-saturated and progressively fracturing porous medium. From the micromechanics of the flow in the cavity, identities are derived that couple the local momentum and the mass balances to the governing equations for a fluid-saturated porous medium, which are assumed to hold on the macroscopic scale. By exploiting the partition-of-unity property of the finite element shape functions, the position and direction of the fractures are independent from the underlying discretization. The finite element equations are derived for this two-scale approach and integrated over time. The resulting discrete equations are nonlinear due to the cohesive crack model and the nonlinearity of the coupling terms. A consistent linearization is given for use within a Newton-Raphson iterative procedure. Finally, examples are given to show the versatility and the efficiency of the approach.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 1999.04a
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• pp.239-244
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• 1999

The reduction phenomena of the compressive strength of concrete with respect to the size of specimens have been extensively investigated. However, adequate analysis technique have not been developed until now. Existing researches have shown that the larger member size, the smaller the strength. This indicated the necessity of nonlinear fracture mechanics theory in order to analyze the fracture behaviors of concrete. The are some models that predict the size effect of compressive strength of cylindrical specimens. Theses equations, however, are developed not considering the difference of fracturing mechanism which depends on both geometry of specimen and the strength level of concrete. In this paper, a model to predict compressive strength of cylindrical concrete specimens with respect to diameters, h/d ratios, and the strength level of concrete, is suggested. For this purpose, theoretical and statistical analyses are conducted. Experimental constants used in the model of new size effect are formulated in terms of strength levels of concrete based on existing experimental data.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.151-161
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• 2023

This paper presents an investigation of variables that cause spurious cracking in numerical modeling of concrete fracture. Spurious cracks appear due to the approximate nature of numerical modeling. They overestimate the dissipated energy, leading to divergent results with mesh refinement. This paper is limited to quasi-static loading regime, homogeneous models, cracking as the only nonlinear mode of deformation and cracking only due to tensile loading. Under these conditions, some variables that can be related to spurious cracking are: mesh alignment, ductility, crack band width, structure size, mesh refinement and load increment size. Case studies illustrate the effect of each variable and convergence analyses demonstrate that, after all, load-increment size is the most important variable. Theoretically, a sufficiently small load increment is able to eliminate or at least alleviate the detrimental influence of the other variables. Such load-increment size might be prohibitively small, rendering the simulation unfeasible. Hence, this paper proposes two alternatives. First, it is proposed an algorithm that automatically find such small load increment size automatically, which not necessarily avoid large computations. Then, it is proposed a double simulation technique, in which the crack is forced to propagate through the localization zone.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.82 no.1
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• pp.81-92
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• 2022

Ultra-high performance fiber reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) is a composite building material with high ductility, fatigue resistance, fracture toughness, durability, and energy absorption capacity. The aim of this study is to develop a nonlinear finite element model that can simulate the response of the UHPFRC beam exposed to impact loads. A nonlinear finite element model was developed in ABAQUS to simulate the real response of UHPFRC beams. The numerical results showed that the model was highly successful to capture the experimental results of selected beams from the literature. A parametric study was carried out to investigate the effects of reinforcement ratio and impact velocity on the response of the UHPFRC beam in terms of midpoint displacement, impact load value, and residual load-carrying capacity. In the parametric study, the nonlinear analysis was performed in two steps for 12 different finite element models. In the first step, dynamic analysis was performed to monitor the response of the UHPFRC beam under impact loads. In the second step, static analysis was conducted to determine the residual load-carrying capacity of the beams. The parametric study has shown that the reinforcement ratio and the impact velocity affect maximum and residual displacement value substantially.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 1992.04a
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• pp.65-70
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• 1992

This study deals with the finite element analysis of the monotonic behavior of reinforced concrete beams and beam-column joint subassemblages. It is assumed that the behavior of these members can be discribed by a plane stress field. Concrete and reinforcing steel are represented by separate material models which are combined together with a model of the interaction between reinforcing bar and concrete through bond-slip to discribe the behavior of the composite reinforced concrete material. To discribe the concrete behavior, a nonlinear orthotropic model is adopted and the crack is discribed by a system of orthogonal cracks, which are rotating as the principal strain directions are changed. A smeared finite element model based on the fracture mechanics principles are used to overcome the numerical defect according to the finite element mesh size. Finally, correlation studies between analytical and experimental results and several parameter studies are conducted with the objective to estabilish the validity of the proposed model and identify the significance of various effects on the local and global response of reinforced concrete members.

• Architectural research
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.27-35
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• 2014

Nonlinear analysis of reinforced concrete structures is carried out by using Reissner-Mindlin (RM) shell finite element (FE). The brittle inelastic characteristic of concrete material is represented by using the elasto-plastic fracture (EPF) material model with the relevant material models such as cracking criteria, shear transfer model and tension stiffening model. In particular, assumed strains are introduced in the formulation of the present shell FE in order to avoid element deficiencies inherited in the standard RM shell FE. The arc-length control method is used to trace the full load-displacement path of reinforced concrete structures. Finally, four benchmark tests are carried out and numerical results are provided as future reference solutions produced by RM shell element with assumed strains.

• Journal of the Architectural Institute of Korea Structure & Construction
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.11-17
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• 2018

Concrete is the well-used material in many architectural and civil structures. The behavior of concrete does exhibit a different characteristic in compression and tension, and it also shows an inelastic-nonlinear behavior. In addition, the concrete properties vary slightly depending on the environmental factor and manufacturer. These properties of concrete make the modeling or simulation of concrete material difficult. In reinforced concrete, particularly, there is a difficulty in bond-slip relationship between concrete and steel. However, in this paper, reserving remainder of these limits the finite element analysis for reinforced concrete beams through ABAQUS simulation has been carried out with some assumptions. Assumptions include the perfect bond of steel and concrete as well as the concrete damaged plasticity (CDP) in concrete property. There is a reasonable agreement between the experimental and numerical results, although the analytical strength and external rod deformation are slightly overestimated. The average and standard deviation between two results are 1.05 and 0.05, respectively. And the models and the computations lead to the evolution of fracture in bending beam.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.117-134
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• 2008

An experimental and numerical research was conducted to gain a deeper insight on the structural behaviour of deep-beams with indirect supports and to assess the size effects in the ultimate state behaviour. The experimental campaign focused on the influence of the reinforcement tie distribution height on the compression check of the support region and on the benefits of using unbonded prestressing steel. Three reduced scale specimens were tested and used to validate the results obtained with a nonlinear finite element model. As a good agreement could be found between the numerical and the experimental results, the numerical model was then further used to perform simulations in large scale deep-beams, with dimensions similar to the ones to be adopted in a practical case. Two sources of size effects were identified from the simulation results. Both sources are related to the concrete quasi-brittle behaviour and are responsible for increasing failure brittleness with increasing structural size. While in the laboratory models failure occurred both in the experimental tests as well as in the numerical simulations after reinforcement yielding, the numerically analysed large scale models exhibited shear failures with reinforcement still operating in the elastic range.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.283-292
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• 2007

A research projects is currently being conducted to develop a nonlinear finite element analysis methods for predicting the structural behavior of reinforced concrete frame structures, exposed to fire. As part of this, reinforced concrete frames subjected to fire loads were analyzed using the nonlinear finite-element program DIANA. Two numerical steps are incorporated in this program. The first step carries out the nonlinear transient heat flow analysis associated with fire and the second step predicts the structural behavior of reinforced concrete frames subjected to the thermal histories predicted by first step. The complex features of structural behavior in fire conditions, such as thermal expansion, plasticity, cracking or crushing, and material properties changing with temperature are considered. A concrete material model based on nonlinear fracture mechanics to take cracking into account and plasticity models for concrete in compression and reinforcement steel were used. The material and analytical models developed in this paper are verified against the experimental data on simple reinforced concrete beams. The changes in thermal parameters are discussed from the point of view of changes of structure and chemical composition due to the high temperature exposure. Although, this study considers codes standard fire for reinforced concrete frame, any other time-temperature relationship can be easily incorporated.